Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 17
कुष्ठ्युवाच । कुत आगम्यते विप्र क्व यास्यसि वदाऽधुना । एवं लावण्ययुक्तोऽपि किमेकाकी यथार्तिभाक्
kuṣṭhyuvāca | kuta āgamyate vipra kva yāsyasi vadā'dhunā | evaṃ lāvaṇyayukto'pi kimekākī yathārtibhāk
The leper said: “O brāhmaṇa, from where have you come, and where are you going now? Though endowed with such beauty, why are you alone, as if burdened with distress?”
Kuṣṭhī (the leper brāhmaṇa/householder)
Scene: A leper, marked by disease yet dignified, addresses a radiant young brāhmaṇa traveler; the contrast between affliction and beauty is central, with an undertone of empathy and curiosity.
FAQs
Suffering invites inquiry and guidance; respectful questioning becomes the beginning of transformation in Purāṇic tīrtha stories.
Not yet; the question prompts the traveler’s account that will introduce the sacred place and its benefits.
None directly; the verse models respectful address and inquiry (vinaya) as part of dharmic conduct.
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